Wesley Crocker is accused of the murder of young Maria Ibarra, who was found near the "camping place" of the drifter. Crocker's account of the previous night leads Undersheriff Bill Gastner to more troubling questions.

Out of Season: An Undersheriff Bill Gastner Mystery #7

Sheriff Martin Holman of the Posadas County Sheriff's Department didn't like flying, much less at night, with bad weather. So why he took a plane ride over a nearby mesa under those dangerous conditions is a question as disturbing as why somebody shot the pilot dead from the ground - causing the plane to crash. Undersheriff Bill Gastner, a 60-something warhorse just months away from retirement, now has a murder on his hands.

Bag Limit

Bill Gastner, the reluctant sheriff of Posadas County, New Mexico, anticipates his last few days in office will be uneventful. That is, until local teen Matt Baca drives drunkenly into the back of Gastner's cruiser and flees into the night. His eventual capture turns tragic when the boy becomes irrationally violent and takes a fatal tumble into oncoming traffic. Adding to the tragedy, Matt's father is found dead in his tiny kitchen. Is this all a terrible coincidence, or is something more sinister afoot?

Dead Weight: A Sheriff Bill Gastner Mystery

A well-seasoned 69, Sheriff Bill Gastner knows his Posadas, New Mexico, territory as well as he understands the foibles of the human condition. So when a backhoe crushes a man to death, it's more instinct than fact that leaves him feeling there is more to this "accident" than meets the eye.

Scavengers: Posadas County Mysteries #1

Not one, but two dead bodies are found in the harsh New Mexico desert. The first man's face is smashed beyond recognition, and the second one appears to have been forced to dig his own grave before being murdered...execution style.

Soon, new Sheriff Robert Torrez and Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman are knee deep in the midst of a brutal murder spree that spans both sides of the border.

Red, Green, or Murder: A Sheriff Bill Gastner Mystery #10

Former Posadas County Sheriff Bill Gastner, now a New Mexico Livestock Inspector, is enjoying a day on Herb Torrances. But Bill soon finds himself ferrying a broken cowpuncher in the back of his SUV, headed out to meet an ambulance.

Convenient Disposal: A Posadas County Mystery

To most people, hat pins are vestiges of the past, used now only by elderly ladies who don't leave home without a hat. But recently, the notion store in Posadas County has been doing a good business selling hat pins to teenage girls. Following a "cat fight" over a boy, one of the girls, Carmen Acosta, had been suspended from school. But Carmen's friends are still around. So Deena, Carmen's rival, wants something with which to defend herself.

A Discount for Death

In this sequel to Steven Havill's Scavengers, Estelle Reyes-Guzman plunges into her new job as undersheriff of Posadas County and the action never stops. As Bill Gastner, recently retired sheriff, lurks diplomatically in the background, Estelle must deal with the disappearance of a local insurance broker who was about to be indicted for fraud. A far worse challenge comes when one of her officers, on a wild chase through town, causes the death of a young single mother in a motorcycle crash. And if that wasn't enough, now there is a dead body. It looks like suicide...or does it?

Night Zone: Posadas County Mystery, Book 19: Bill Gastner, Book 11

What do you do when you inherit $330 million after taxes? If you're New Mexico rancher Miles Waddell, you build a dream. A flat-topped mesa and a third of a billion dollars equals Nightzone Zone, an astronomy-based theme park, complete with giant radio telescope, a bank of smaller scopes linked to a theater, five-star dining in a restaurant with retracting dome ceiling, a hotel/resort, tram car access, and a narrow gauge steam locomotive to carry tourists to the mesa top. Glorious. And too ambitious for many residents of Posadas County.

Statute of Limitations: Posadas County Mysteries #4

Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman and ex-Sheriff Bill Gastner arrive at a motel parking lot to find it has turned into a crime scene, and the body of the retired chief-of-police is at the center. It appears that he had an exchange with two men and then collapsed while the men took off in his car. An out-of-town couple are the only witnesses...but their story doesn't ring true.

One Perfect Shot: Posadas County Mysteries Prequel

When a county employee is found shot to death in sun-drenched daylight while sitting in his county road grader, Undersheriff Bill Gastner is faced with puzzling questions. The simplest explanation - that an errant bullet from a careless target shooter's rifle blew out Larry Zipoli's brains - is soon discarded as inconsistencies surface. The fatal bullet shows no rifling marks, an investigation reveals that the shooter walked directly toward the road grader, in full view of the victim - who did nothing to defend himself.

Final Payment: Posadas County Mysteries #5

The rugged Cat Mesa country north of the village of Posadas is hosting the first annual Posadas 100, a cycle-cross bicycle race that promises to attract more than 140 competitors. Despite enough injuries during the pre-race practice to promise a spectacular and dangerous race, Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman has even more pressing concerns on her mind.

The Fourth Time Is Murder: Posadas County Mystery, Book 6

Undersheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman is always busy, but more so now than ever. The sheriff is still not completely recovered from his stay in the hospital, and she is recovering from a hospital stay herself. After a long day at work, Estelle is happy to clear off her desk and drive home, where her beloved family waits. She hears her cell phone ringing as she pulls into the driveway. A truck has gone off the road and the driver's body found near the wreck.

Double Prey: Posadas County Mysteries #7

A rattlesnake fang pegged in a teenager's eye is just the beginning of a spring day for Posadas Undersheriff Estelle Guzman. The injured lad's older brother goes missing, and is found dead in an arroyo, apparently killed by his cartwheeling ATV. But most puzzling is what the dead boy found moments before he was killed...an astonishing discovery that takes deputies back to a five year-old killing. Estelle and the now retired Bill Gastner find themselves looking for a murderer altogether too close to home.

Lawless Trail

The Traybo brothers have a reputation for being gentleman outlaws - the kind who will make polite chatter as they take your life savings. But Ranger Samuel Burrack has no sympathy for those who show poor manners when it comes to obeying the law. He's traveled as far as the Mexican Badlands to pick up the Traybo brothers' ex-cohort, Fatch Hardaway, to lead him to his prey. Burrack isn't alone in his pursuit.

One Perfect Shot: A Posadas County Mystery

When a county employee is found shot to death in sun-drenched daylight while sitting in his county road grader, Undersheriff Bill Gastner is faced with puzzling questions. The simplest explanation - that an errant bullet from a careless target shooter’s rifle blew out Larry Zipoli’s brains - is soon discarded as inconsistencies surface. The fatal bullet shows no rifling marks, and investigation shows that the shooter walked directly toward the road grader, in full view of the victim - who did nothing to defend himself.

Race for the Dying: A Dr. Thomas Parks Mystery, Book 1

A newly minted graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Medical School in 1890, Dr. Thomas Parks heads to the big timber country of Puget Sound to practice trauma medicine. An hour after stepping off the boat, he's nearly crushed to death by a less-than-sure-footed mule and finds himself a patient rather than a physician. As he convalesces, he discovers that his host, a venerable physician friend of his father's, is running an elaborate medical scam, selling worthless concoctions nationwide, with enormous sales.

Dry Bones: A Walt Longmire Mystery

When Jen, the largest, most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever found, surfaces in Sherriff Walt Longmire's jurisdiction, it appears to be a windfall for the High Plains Dinosaur Museum - until Danny Lone Elk, the Cheyenne rancher on whose property the remains were discovered, turns up dead, floating face down in a turtle pond. With millions of dollars at stake, a number of groups step forward to claim her, including Danny's family, the tribe, and the federal government.

Bad Country

Rodeo Grace Garnet lives alone, save for his old dog, in a remote corner of Arizona known to locals as the Hole. He doesn't get many visitors, but a body found near his home has drawn police attention to his front door. The victim is not one of the many illegal immigrants who risk their lives to cross the border just south of the Hole, but is instead a member of one of the local Indian tribes.

Poacher's Son

Set in the wilds of Maine, this is an explosive tale of an estranged son thrust into the hunt for a murderous fugitive - his own father. Game warden Mike Bowditch returns home one evening to find an alarming voice from the past on his answering machine: his father, Jack, a hard-drinking womanizer who makes his living poaching illegal game. An even more frightening call comes the next morning from the police: They are searching for the man who killed a beloved local cop the night before - and his father is their prime suspect.

Publisher's Summary

Wesley Crocker is accused of the murder of young Maria Ibarra, who was found near the "camping place" of the drifter. Crocker's account of the previous night leads Undersheriff Bill Gastner to more troubling questions.

What the Critics Say

"A strong sense of place and tough but compassionate characters distinguish this series." (Publishers Weekly)"A mystery that is disarmingly simple on the surface but ultimately reveals surprising depth." (Booklist)

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